Articles by Sura Rubenstein

It was a journey through time, through tears and toward hope. A trip that took two dozen women through a millennium of Jewish life in Poland to a rebirth of Jewish life in Israel. “This was the journey of a lifetime,” says Eve Levy, who organized the trip with the Portland Kollel. “It was so…

RABBI JOSHUA STAMPFER On Nov. 29, 1947, Joshua Stampfer, then a young rabbinic student in Jerusalem, awoke to the news that the United Nations, the night before, had approved the creation of a Jewish state. Soon after the UN announcement, he joined the Haganah, the underground Jewish defense army that, after statehood, became the Israel…

The Harrison Street mikvah was at least the third community mikvah in Portland. According to several sources, a mikvah organization was incorporated about 1902 to serve immigrants in the South Portland neighborhood. There are no mentions in news stories or other sources of an earlier mikvah, though there may have been one. A 1975 story…

In 2006 Rabbi Tzvi and Esther Fischer, a young couple with three children, moved from Jerusalem to Portland, bringing with them a shared vision. A decade later, they – and the other young families of the Portland Kollel – invite everyone to join in celebrating “10 Years of Success.” “We have connected hundreds of Jewish…

In 1892 Portland’s first Jewish mayor, Bernard Goldsmith, built a “handsome dwelling” for $4,000 at the corner of Northwest 24th Avenue and Quimby Street. In 2014 some 20 neighbors and friends raised $2.25 million to save it from the wrecking ball. And today, its new owners are working to restore it as a showpiece of…

Photos courtesy of OJMHCHE The Soda Pop King, the labor organizer and the high school teacher in Baker City all have something to say. And thanks to the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education, their stories – and their teachings – are just a couple of clicks away. The stories of Lou Albert,…

“By the time of her death in 1968, she had become one of the first women in Oregon to distinguish herself in three medical fields – obstetrics, gynecology and psychiatry.” ~ Judy Margles, executive director of the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. Lena Nemerovsky Kenin was a pioneer who created new opportunities…

“A haimisher mensch means someone with whom you can take your shoes off, or let your hair down.” ~ Leo Rosten, The Joys of Yiddish If Rabbi Daniel Isaak had to pick one word to describe his tenure at Congregation Neveh Shalom, it would be “haimish.” The Yiddish word means informal, cozy, warm. Having the…

Eliezer Froehlich loves history and family – and solving puzzles posed by both. He has traced his own family back to the conversos of Spain, to early Oregon Jewish immigrants from Bavaria and Baden, Germany, and even to soldiers in the Revolutionary War. But he didn’t stop there. He sought links between his family and…

Jewish weddings have always been a community priority. The patriarch Abraham went to great lengths to arrange the marriage of his son, Isaac, to Rebekah. And the great medieval sage Maimonides included marriage in his listing of the 613 commandments incumbent upon Jews. Closer to home, no sooner had the first Jewish young men arrived…

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World Premiere of “Magellanica,” by award-winning Oregon playwright E.M. Lewis, directed by Dámaso Rodríguez Play includes five parts. Runtime is approximately 6 hours. Three 10-minute intermissions and one 25-minute dinner break. Limited Run. Only...

Raoul Wallenberg: To Me, There’s No Other Choice. Learn the story behind the Swedish diplomat who single-handedly saved thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary during World War II. By issuing protective passports and buying buildings...

Please join Congregation Shaarie Torah for a special Shabbat morning service. At this service, we will include new melodies, explore the service with some reflections on the prayers themselves, and chant according to the Triennial cycle...

OJMCHE has exhibition tours every Wednesday at 1 pm. Tours are free with admission and members, of course, can always visit for free. Come early or stay after and enjoy lunch in the museum’s Lefty’s...

Concert pianist, David Rothman, is a virtuoso when it comes to performing the complete great works of piano repertoire. In 2002, he played from memory all the Beethoven sonatas in a period of five weeks....

Enter the world of Anne Frank as told by her stepsister and childhood friend, Eva Schloss. At 8 years old Eva became friends with Anne, playing hopscotch and drinking lemonade together. Her story is difficult...